Under-contact rail and support.



A. GOLLOS. UNDER CONTACT RAIL AND SUPPORT.

. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, I9I2.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

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Application filed September 30, 1912. Serial No. 723,202.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANAToL GoLLos, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Under-Contact Rails andSupports, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more particularly to under contact rails, whichare adapted for use in connection with electric railways for supplyingcurrent and more especially to such rails which are used as intermittentcontact rails for railway signal systems, stop systems or the like.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a rail with asuitable approach or beveled portion for depressing the contact shoe,which will cause the contact shoe to be depressed gradually, and whichwill not be apt to become rapidly worn or worn in spots where the shoestrikes the same; and to provide the rail with a support which can beeasily and cheaply made, and which will serve to hold the rail securelyin position.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is anend view, partially in section, showing my improved support and methodof securing the rail; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same also showing theapproach or beveled portion of the rail; and, Fig. 3 is an end viewpartially in section, showing a modified form of support.

As indicated in these drawings, 4: represents a bracket which is adaptedto be secured to a tie or other support, and which is provided at thetop with a longitudinal plate 5. This plate has an outwardly extendingflange 6 thereon. Insulating blocks 7 and 8 are arranged on either sideof the rail 9, these blocks fitting into the space between the flangeand head of the rail, and preferably having their outer faces comingsubstantially in alinement with the outer edges of the flange. The plate5 is preferably made sufficiently long to receive two bolts 10 on eitherside of the upwardly extending portion of the bracket 4, and the blocks7 and 8 are about as long as the plate. The block 7 fits against theface of the plate 5 and rests upon the upper face of the flange 6. Thebolts 10 pass through the outer block 8, then through the web of therail 9,

through the block 7 and plate 5 and are provided with suitable nuts fordrawing the parts tightly together. The heads of the bolts 10 areprefer-ably countersunk in the outer face of the block 8. In order tofurther insure the insulation of the rail from the bracket, the holes inthe web, through which the bolts pass are made considerably larger thanthe bolts and collars orsleeves 11 of insulating material are placedover the. bolts. These collars are made somewhat longer than thethickness of the web. and their ends fit in counterbores in the blocks.It will be seen, that by means ofthis arrangement, the insulatingcollars are fully protected and tight joints are made which will preventwater or moisture from enter ing in between the rails and the bolts. Therail is preferably covered throughout its length by trough or cover 12,comprising a top board 18 and sides 14: and 15. The sides 15' are cutaway at the supports in order to clear the plate 5.

In the modified form of construction of supports shown in Fig. 3, theplate 16 which corresponds with the plate 5, above mentioned, isprovided with two outwardly eX- tending flanges 17 and 18. These flangesmay be arranged to embrace merely the rails and blocks, such as shown inFig. 1, suitable insulating material being placed between the rail andthe top flange or, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 they may embrace the railand its longitudinal cover. In this instance, the bolt 19 passes throughone of the cover plates as well as through the blocks and rail. It willbe seen that by means of this arrangement the upper flange 17 tends toreceive the strain caused by the upward pressure of the contact shoe sothat there is comparatively little strain placed upon the bolt 19.Furthermore this upper flange serves as an additional protector toprotect the connection between the rail and the bracket.

When such rails are used as intermittent rails, for signal systems orstop systems for railways they are ordinarily required to' the cars ortrains. For this reason the insulating blocks in the first instance maybe made of wood as shown.

With the contact rails heretofore used, it has been common to make theend approach or beveled end Which is used for depressing the contactshoe, of cast metal which is connected with the rail proper. I havefound that when such beveled ends or approaches are used for contactshoes for signal or stop systems they are apt to cause the shoe to bethrown downwardly out of contact therewith when it first strikes therail, this being apt to cause an improper operation of the signal orstop system. In order to overcome these objections and provide a smoothoperation between the rail and contact shoe, the end of the rail is bentupwardly at'any pitch desired, and then the portion of the railwhichwould extend above the upper surface thereof is cut awaysubstantially as indicated in Fig. 2. The approach or beveled portion ofthe rail is therefore formed from the head of the rail proper, and Ihave found this gives a smooth and eflicient action when the contactshoe engages therewith. 7

Having thus described my invention, which however, I do not wish tolimit to the exact details or arrangement herein shown and described,except as specified in the appended claims, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

The combination of a support for holding a contact rail in raisedposition, said support having a longitudinal plate with a flange alongthe lower side thereof, an insulating member having a fiat surface,engaging With said plate and resting on said flange, a contact railengaging with said insulating member, a second insulating member on theopposite side of the contact rail,

an insulating sleeve extending through a hole provided for the same, inthe web of said rail, and extending into recesses in the adjacentsurfaces of the contact members, a bolt passing through said plate,contact members, and sleeve, for holding said parts together, and atrough or cover over said rail, comprising side pieces which extend downover the joints between the rail and the insulating members, and a toppiece which extends out to the outer faces of the side pieces, wherebythe rail and connections are fully protected, and Water is preventedfrom running down into the connections.

ANATOL GOLLOS. Witnesses C. C. BREUER, IRENE Fonnns'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

